TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Jan. 31, 2013 – Travis Young got ripped off by a company that claimed it would unload his timeshare for a price.
Then a scammer called with a new twist on the old con.
“John Anthony” told Young that he worked for the fraud unit at the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) and would get Young’s money back.
The catch? Young had to wire $390 to the state for lawyers’ fees.
Instead, Young called the Florida Attorney General’s Office and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. He learned the department has no fraud unit.
“I’ve always heard and read that you shouldn’t send money by wire transfer,” said Young, 35, who lives in Tennessee.
The department is warning consumers that people posing as state employees are contacting timeshare owners and trying to part them from their money. Officials received a handful of calls Tuesday, all citing the same scam, and sent out an alert to notify the public.
“We’re not sure if they’re telemarketers or outright scammers,” said Sandi Poreda, a spokeswoman for the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
In the latest ruse, “John Anthony” leaves a message and a return number with a Tallahassee area code. When consumers call back, they get an answering machine that says, “Hello. You’ve reached the desk of John Anthony with the Florida Department of Business Regulation. I’m sorry I’m not able to answer your call right now.”
At least one complainant said “Anthony” and someone named “John Dees” telephoned him. Anthony claimed to be the director of the agency and asked for $340 to recover $3,000 the man had lost in a time-share-refund scam, department records show.
No one by either name works at the department, officials said. The scammer also left out the word “professional” in the name of the agency.
“Anthony” has requested a few hundred dollars from some people and as much as $1,000 from others, according to the complaints, which started arriving Tuesday.
It’s unclear how the caller is locating potential victims, but Young suspects that a timeshare-resale company he previously did business with passed along his name. It’s also possible that “Anthony” is with the fraudulent company, the department said.
“Their sales pitch is all a big lie,” Young said.
If consumers receive calls from people claiming to work for the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, the agency advises:
• Avoid giving out personal or financial information.
• If you have given out your information, call your local law-enforcement agency.
• Report telemarketers to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services at 800-435-7352 or freshfromflorida.com
Copyright © 2013 The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.), Susan Jacobson. Distributed by MCT Information Services